


Of Cocoa and Delays

by RosaClearwater



Series: Facetious Fusions [18]
Category: Warehouse 13
Genre: Cameos (or mentionings) for the rest of the team, Fluff with a very small hint of angst, Gen, Mainly Claudia & Leena, This is definitely somewhere in season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2019-02-19 04:45:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13116309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosaClearwater/pseuds/RosaClearwater
Summary: See, the most frustrating part of all of this for the young woman is that she’d been here for quite some time now. And, furthermore, she was definitely capable of handling herself -- ignoring a few accidents here and there with things that weretotallyout of her control.And, even with all of her experience -- because surviving the Warehouse for this long has to count for something -- shestillhas to be the one warming the bench back at home base.So. Not. Fair.The woman angrily repeated the thought to herself, curled up in bed and perfectly content to continue sulking.And she would’ve continued on sulking had it not been for the light knocking on her door.





	Of Cocoa and Delays

It was always frustrating being the one left behind. Having to be the tech support when even Artie, someone who definitely wasn’t at all in good shape, huffed and jogged after Pete and Myka.

 

And, yeah, she got it. Least experienced, probably still can’t be trusted in the field by herself just yet, all of that bull.

 

_“You’re still lacking in experience, Claudia.”_

 

_"Don't worry about being in the field just yet, Clauds."_

 

_“You can tag along in the future, kiddo.”_

 

“Blah, blah, blah, blah.” She muttered aloud, truly vexed by the whole situation.

 

Personally, it seems worse to be the one waiting back at the ranch (or, back at the B&B, in this case). Especially on nights like these when last minute orders came that forced her friends out of bed and onto the cheapest red-eyes the government could buy.

 

Problem is, not even Mrs. Frederic had perfect timing -- even if said timing was usually freakily accurate. Orders can’t always be handed in a manila folder over breakfast, artifacts don't wait, and sometimes her little family doesn’t get a break. Sometimes, they had to leave her without getting a chance to even say "Cya later" and it was just _so_ not fair.

 

Anyway, back to the issue at hand.

 

See, the most frustrating part of all of this for the young woman is that she’d been here for quite some time now. And, furthermore, she was definitely capable of handling herself -- ignoring a few accidents here and there with things that were  _totally_ out of her control.

 

And, even with all of her experience -- because surviving the Warehouse for this long has to count for something -- she  _still_  has to be the one warming the bench back at home base.

 

_So. Not. Fair._ The woman angrily repeated the thought to herself, curled up in bed and perfectly content to continue sulking.  

 

And she would’ve continued on sulking had it not been for the light knocking on her door.

 

“You okay?”

 

It’s not like Claudia really had that much a problem with Leena anymore. Sure, there was that whole betrayal part and, oh yeah, the whole Claudia being framed for something she didn’t actually do by someone she wanted to trust part.

 

But that’s all just water under the bridge or whatever the hell that phrase is.

 

“Fine.” The unusually Artie-like grumble came out, causing a soft sigh to escape from the door.

 

“Okay.” But it seemed liked Leena was accepting defeat today instead of pushing the matter.

 

_Or so I can hope._

 

“But, if you ever want to talk.” The offer slipped into the air, and with it the petulance awkwardly plummeted.

 

_Crap... I gotta say something, don't I?_

 

Because that silence was just going to continue hanging there. And then she'd feel bad later because Leena doesn't really deserve all of this...

 

“Hey,” She hesitantly caught eyes with the woman. “I do know it wasn’t really you, and that it really wasn’t your fault. It-- It’s just…”

 

_It’s just hard to get over this._

 

_It's hard to trust you again._

 

Leena tiredly smiled at this, understanding what the younger woman was experiencing and simultaneously reflecting on her own pain from the situation. It certainly was a mixed bag of emotions floating through the room.

 

“... You wanna get some hot cocoa?”

 

Leena had been preparing herself to accept Claudia’s frustration, had prepared to let go of her own incapabilities when it came to all of this, and to walk away for the time being.  

 

She had not been expecting this form of an olive branch. 

 

"I-I loved to."

 

It only took a few moments for the door to crack open, for a tired Claudia to emerge, and for the hot chocolate to be made. 

  
It wasn't a moment they expected to be having for a long time -- if ever. But it only took twenty minutes or so to set up shop in the kitchen.

 

Furthermore, neither of them been expecting to receive additional company in the form of a Myka coated in snow, a cackling Pete who had clearly descended into some form of deviant behavior, and a weary Artie who only just wanted to sleep.

 

“B--but, the flight--”

 

“Delayed.” Came the irritated grunt. “Snow.”

 

“And, cocoa good.” Claudia couldn’t help but snip back at her boss as she proceeded to make more hot chocolate for him, “Delay bad.”

 

Her fellow companions all snickered at this exchange -- even Leena -- as their supervisor grabbed said mug without any protest. And, as she handed over the mug she couldn't help but share a hesitant glance with Leena.

 

It's true that Claudia still wasn’t comfortable with this, probably wouldn't be for a while. She didn't want to repeatedly question what should be trusting relationships, she didn't want to have to shield herself from people who were supposed to protect and care for her.

 

And, she  _definitely_  didn’t care to be a benchwarmer.

 

But... all in all, it wasn’t  _that_ bad.

**Author's Note:**

> Interestingly enough, I was inspired to write all of that because of this quotation:
> 
> “He was on the flight, right?”  
> “Ah, bit of a problem on that front.” -- Death in Paradise
> 
> Turns out I was more invested in fluffing it up for Claudia and Leena than my original plan (which was going to be more Artie & Claudia fluffy goodness).


End file.
